How Long Will You Choose to Suffer?
Daniel 9:1-19
- Was Daniel reading from Jeremiah 25?
- The normal Christian life is not apocalyptic visioneering, it is living by the Book
- God’s Word moves you to experience God; “…in knowing Him, access to every spiritual blessing…” (Eph 1:3)
- by opening the Book, you are making a choice to bring into your life the ways of God
- This is what the fellowship of prayer is…
- When a healthy believer walks into the presence of God, the 1st emotions/words are “I’m Sorry”
- Daniel 9:4; the only instance of LORD in all caps in book of Daniel
- how have we treated God?? (Dan 9:5)
- instead of turning from our sins and giving attention to God’s truth, we give attention to our sin and turn our attention from God’s truth (ie. wilful sinning)
- Dan 9:7; He is righteous, but we are covered in shame
- sinning (or remaining in sin) is Christian masochism; Satan successfully putting us in exile from God when we sin
- When a child of God steps over that threshold from earth to heaven in prayer, the most natural act is to ask God for what you need
- Dan 9:17
- you are most in-tune/contact with God if you are moved to ask
- nurtured by grace, not by our own actions or righteousness (Dan 9:18)
- Being truly in His presence always moves us to an “others” concern
- being ashamed for others’ sin
- being burdened for others’ pain
- sin is Satan’s sickness to keep you from having an appetite for having the things of God
- When you don’t feel like praying, start reading the Bible — God’s voice will call you into conversation and healthy prayer will happen
- prayer will either come from your heart or carry your heart; prayer will come either way
- we lose our fear and reverence for God because we lose our vision of His majesty and holiness; our vision becomes blurred…
- Ps 40:6; Jerm 29:12-14 (and then boom, all the slides fast forwarded to the pointless end slide…)